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The action steps for a successful Groupon campaign Golf Pro Marketing 2012

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Marketing? t is Golf Pro W ha

I hope you enjoy this article and it helps you plan an effective Groupon campaign.
Matt Reagan PGA, Founder Golf Pro Marketing

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Matt Reagan (Founder & Contributor of GolfPro Marketing) is very passionate about teaching others about the passions in his life. Matt is a PGA Professional who has a very strong marketing background. On top of being an avid Golf Instructor Matt started his own web development business 2 years ago called Reagan Website Solutions. Matt built and trained small business owners on how to maintain a website. His passion for teaching led him to start helping others learn about marketing and the most cost effective tools, and thus GolfPro Marketing was born!

Matt is very active in finding ways to grow the game of golf in any way he can. He believes by educating golf professionals about all the latest tech and marketing trends it can be very helpful in accomplishing this feat. Matt understands how hard it is to understand all of the modern tools that are available and how to apply them effectively to grow your business. GolfPro Marketing plans on growing the into a location where the leaders in the industry can share their marketing and sales tips, and review the products and services in the golf industry.

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Groupon is a great example of one of the modern marketing tools that can be used to increase sales. Being the Head Professional at a semi private facility Matt had the opportunity to use this tool first hand, and question ways to use it more effectively.

FOREWARD

Information Capture Systemure to capt

How are you going mation? Groupon Customer Infor

What steps should you take before running a Groupon promotion?

run your Groupon Promotion you Before youthe maximumplace to ensure that you should have a plan in are making Return on Investment possible. Many businesses dont make a plan because Groupon sells it to them as we will take care of everything for you. There is no initial investment or payment to Groupon for the service so they just sit back and wait for Groupon Customers to start rolling in.

Educate About Business educate to

ou Y need to find ways about your each groupon customer products and serv ices.

Create an Excellent n Consumer Experieto cek gment loo

o T get the Deals Se you have to past getting a disount, perience. create a remembrable ex

If you are a Golf Course who thinks that you can survive on the 75% discounted Greens Fees and Carts from Groupon Cusotmers by running multiple promotions you are setting yourself up for failure.

Develop Groupon el Customer SalesaFunnting marke

Lastly you must create mers into plan to turn these custo mers. repeat full paying custo

The steps listed on the left are some items you should consider or plan to get the most out of your Groupon Promotion. These steps will be explored further after we dig into some vital information you should know about Groupon. We hope you enjoy.

LETS GO!

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TO ExpLOrE? OuT T arE YOu ab W Ha

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busIness Model

GrouPons

PosITIv es of
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ESS & SErvICES OuT YOu r buSIn upOnErS ab 1. EDuCaTE GrO

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ouPon? aT Is Gr Wh G
roupon is a deal-of-the-day company that sells coupons or gift certificates redeemable at partnering businesses. Deals found on Groupon are generally only those that offer 50% or more off of the retail price. Coupons create incentive for consumers to either try a product or service for the first time, or to revisit the business. Each Groupon user has an interest profile to keep their deals personalized. Every morning, the subscribed user would receive emails of featured local deals related to their interests. When a groupon is purchased, it is saved under My Vouchers ready to be redeemed. The consumer can either print the coupon or bring it up on a mobile device to redeem at the place of business.

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s bus pon rou G

How does Groupon make money?
run heavily Businesses partner with Groupon toquantities discounted promotions. Groupon has developed a valid system and database of large of buyers to view and purchase relevant deals in local locations. Groupon was established based on the idea of collective buying power. Therefore, a Groupon deal is only on after a predetermined number of people make the purchase. Unlike marketing with ads, merchants do not have to pay an upfront fee to run a deal. Businesses simply fill out the Run a Deal form or contact a Groupon Representative to specify necessary information before launching the deal. About a month after the scheduled period of promotion, the merchant receives a check from Groupon for half of the revenue that is generated from the promotion. The other half of the generated goes to groupon.

upon rep meet w ith Gro om offer to create a cust

CONSULT sentative re

date plan a launch . w ith Groupon

PLAN

ffer w ith G Launch your o s beg in and watch sale

LAUNCH! roupon

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4
motion Track your pro ns using Groupo o Dashmerhant T ols board

odel ess m sin

TRACK

l Customers w il at pon vouchers ing the grou your business

EDEEM USTOMEReRin redeemC b g

f around 50% o Groupon takes ld. the offers so revenue from e e a check in th o Y u w ill receiv r on for the othe ail from Group m ade. 50% of sales m

CHECK

S IN THE MAIL

roupons business system is built on a lot of valuable foundations. It looks like a win win for everyone. You do not pay Groupon to run a promotion, but they take 50% of the sales from the promotion. You have to remember though that the 50% of sales that you receive are coming from the discounted offer price. This means that the customer is getting the promotion at half off, but you really are only getting 25% of the full

retail price. If overlooked it can be disastrous for your business.

Groupon does offer great tracking tools and a merchant dashboard for you to be able to easily track your promotion. They give you all the tools you need which is really nice, and it may sound like a great deal becuase it costs you nothing to run a promotion, but it does cost you more than you think.

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. ing Groupon.. positives of us rm

customer reach
a

viral Platfo

s tabases of 1000 Groupon has da in many major ts of local residen world. This cities around the get a specific allows you to tar tial ach many poten area and re ay have never m customers who siness. heard of your bu

for ides incentives Groupon prov tting ve money by ge viewers to sa e vouchers. others to buy th ks include: These networ Facebook Twitter Email r friend Buy as a gift fo

costs $0.00

fre e To ol s

up front to run It costs nothing es Groupon mak a promotion. a percentage ing a prof it by tak s them to not les. This allow of sa n. your promotio charge you for

the ides you with all Groupon prov plete y to run a com tools necessar u does not cost yo promotion. It er for the custom anything extra g tools. d trackin redemption an

Quick Prof its

pon offer is After your Grou a ly takes about complete it on in the ive a check month to rece pon with your mail from Grou sales. percentage of

Guaranteed sales

u set a limit on Groupon lets yo hers you must how many vouc lid. to become va sell for the of fer ific es you a spec This guarante . amount of sales

roupon does have a lot of positives for a businesses looking to run a campaign based around the features above. Startup businesses sometimes look at Groupon as the best thing known to man because of the promotions large reach of local customers and the low cost of running a campaign. However it is essential vaT di 8,550 are ng to think about all of the other costs thatinclu associated with the free promotions.

Dont Forget the implicit costs!

lets take a3,5look 50 at some negatives oF using groupon

including vaT

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ng Groupon... i egatives of us n oners
a Must of fer Promotional value af ter ex piration

are Group o loyal to Y ur business........ ...or Groupon?

omotion vouchW hen your pr still must of fer ers ex pire you l value to your the promotiona s who have those customer . the Groupons not redeemed

mes in w ith an ex: a Golfer co sfee Groupon ex pired Green ou $20.00 for. Y that they paid 0.00 of f $2 must of fer them en s fee e orig inal g re from th price.

DOES IT rEaLL Y ExpIrE?

ge have a very lar Groupon may mers potential custo database of t you need to in your area, bu mers at ty pe of custo think of wh e Grouponers ar these really are. Deals e up of the primarily mad gment. se statements from Some common clude: this segment in I get be back when Ill oupon! another Gr golf if I I now only play pon have a Grou u running W hen are yo Groupon? your next

very low Prof it Marg in

ount u have to disc not only do yo by 50%, service your product or around 50% t Groupon takes bu les that ounted value sa of the disc Lets take a look are generated. that offered a at a golf course : Cart promotion Greens fees &

no customer Information Prov ided

ures all the Groupon capt Groupon mation about the infor ides you s, but only prov customer cusotmers and the with names of mbers. the voucher nu

und of Golf is Ex: $40.00 ro . 00 on Groupon offered for $20. that is sold, upon for every Gro d ake $10.00 an roupon w ill m G e se w ill mak your golf cour $10.00.

ur So in reality yo akes 25% only m business retail price. of the orig inal

rov ide They w ill not p , Emails you w ith ne #s, addresses, pho etc. business It is up to your stomer to build your cu base.

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The Groupon users largest segment is a group I like to call the Deals segment. They need to be understood to make your action steps more effective. Although you may sell 1000s of vouchers, it does not guarantee you repeat sales or even that they will purchase other goods when they redeem the voucher. The Deals segment is a tough croud to influence to be loyal to your business. They value Deals not your business. Seniors are a perfect example of this! They are retired and very tight with their money. There consumer habits will be based around a trail of coupons, promotions, and anything that is discounted.

nding the understa seg ment deals Groupon als Seg ment
De bits Con sumer Ha

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Why is this important to note?

When you start your Groupon Campaign it is important to plan your action steps accordingly to target this segment. Below are just a few ideas and thoughts you should be considering when setting up your action steps:

Every item needs to look like a deal Must plan a Stair Step marketing plan for the Deals segment How do I get them to come back without using a Groupon? Need to try twice as hard to make these customers loyal

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on Plan? e an acti W hy hav a plan!
THE

e ys should hav a ons & Giveaw coup Coupon - A voucher entitling

the holder to a discount off a particular product.

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Coupons are marketing tools that are used to entice customers to purchase your products or services because of a specified discount. In some businesses that are highly competetive (product or service can be sold everywhere ) it is important to utilize coupons and have plans in place to keep customers coming back to their business. Grocery stores and pizza places are great examples of this. There are new deals and coupons found in your local newspaper every week. It may just look like these are randomly selected, but if you look deeper each of these coupons are strategically planned and tracked.

Although you may think that Groupon takes care of everything for you and all your problems are solved because of these new sales and exposure you better think again!

Golf Courses especially need to strategically put a marketing plan in place to get the Deals segment to become repeat customers without coupons.

T H E G r O u p On aC TIOn p L a n !

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1 STEPting a Customer a

Cre tion Capt ure System Informa

Groupon does not provide you with customer contact information. You have a much better chance of getting them to come back to your business if you can capture their contact information. You can then build a segmented list of Groupon Customers you can develop an email marketing plan to educate this segment about special offers that you are offering. How do I capture information? There are multiple ways that you can request customers information, but the best way for this segment is to offer them another deal as soon as they arrive at your business. They were already comfortable enough to give Groupon their information, why would they not give you the same?

Example dialogue for capturing information :

A golfer comes to your course with a Groupon to play 18 holes with a cart. As you check them in you might say: 1. Give them something - We are actually running another promotion (they love this word) for our Groupon Customers. If you provide us with your name and email address we can provide you with another coupon to come back and play with us again for the same rate as this groupon. They will usually jump at the bit and give them your email address right away, but if they do not you can also persuade them by making the Groupon sound scarce:

2. Scarce Tactic- We are actually only going to be running the Groupons for 1 or 2 more promotions. We are going to be offering the same deals but it will be through our email system and not Groupon. If you want to receive more deals like this you can sign our customer appreciation sheet.

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your new Groupon Educate bout your business Customers a
You have to be sure to educate every Groupon customer on your businesses product and services offering. View each Groupon customer as someone who has never been at your course. Before you run your promotion you should write down exactly what you would want a new customer to know if you had a chance to educate them on your offering. Some of these might include: 1. The services you offer 2. Membership Options 3. Where to look for updates (Facebook, Twitter) 4. The Products that you provide 5. Where your business is heading After you have thought of this it is up to you to get creative and find a way to provide them with this information. When they come in with a Groupon they already feel like a different type of customer. They will be open to learning about your facility because they will feel like they should be for getting sucha good deal.

STEP 2

Examples of how to give information: 1. Provide Groupon Appreciation Package- For less than a $1.00 you could put together a very nicely branded packet of information about your business. To get them to read through it put a coupon page in the last page of the packet.

2. Educate Verbally- Have your proshop attendant or sales associate verbally educate them as they check in with their Groupon. Remember they have already puchased the Groupon and they are at your discretion now!

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3 STEPting a positive a

Cre erable ex perience rememb

This step should be in your day to day business opperations anyway but it is worth mentioning. The Deals segment are not easily persuaded to become a repeat customer who are going to pay full price.

It is work ... ...but you need to CREATE VALUE!

Example: Think about what would happen if you went to a golf course with a 50% off coupon. Lets say you spend $20.00 on a $40.00 greens fee and a cart. At the end of your round you evaluate and think the course was not in great shape, the shop staff did not make you feel welcome, the snack bar was closed when you were hungry, and play was slow. With a mediocre experience the customer is only going to value you at the 50% off level. They will wait for another coupon before they come back.

On the other hand what happens if they come to your course and are greeted by a friendly shop assistant, the course is in great shape, they are asked how the round was, the snack bar had great food, and they never waited on a tee box! A majority of players will find the experience much more valueable then the 50% rate and come back and pay full price to have the same experience.

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Create a M e repeat customers increas
If you have implemented a plan in place for steps 1-3 you are now ready to start your marketing plan. I like to call it a funnel, because you are trying to take a mass amount of Groupon customers and funnel them into becoming a full paying repeat customer. You should have already captured the customers information, educated them about your business services, and provided a valuable experience. When you create your Marketing Funnel Plan you should take a stair step approach to turning them into full paying customers.

STEP 4 arketing Funnel to

1. OFFER THE SAME DEAL A good start is to offer them the same deal they got with the Groupon but do it through your email database that you captured in Step 1. You are going to make twice as much on these promotions because Groupon is not taking their 50% cut. Ex: A $20 Groupon Voucher will make you a return of $10.00. A $20 voucher through your database will make you a return of $20.00.

2. SPIN THE PROMOTION -OFFER OTHER ITEMS After the initial offer you can start to raise the offer slightly, or put a spin on the promotion. Ex: Raise the price of Greens Fee and Cart but offer a FREE ball repair tool and bag of tees.

3. REMINDER MARKETING Through this process you should be reminding the customers of other services and specials you are offering. You become the King of the Deals segment when you can sell someone into a full priced product or service! EX: They should be educated about golf lessons, merchandise, memberships, snack bar specials, and everything in between. Remember it needs to look like a deal!

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Like what you read?

Contact matt reagan We would love to hear your comments!

mattreagan@Golf promarketing.com www.golfpromarketing.com

If you have questions about your marketing, contact us and we will do our best to find you an answer! Contact us if you are a Professional who thinks they would like to contribute to the site and help others grow their business
Matt Reagan PGA, Owner GPM

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